This invention relates to collaboration among users in a networked workstation system, i.e. a real-time computer-based cooperative, multi-user environment, through a multi-user interface. More specifically, the invention relates to the manner in which shared structured, hierarchical containers and data bases are represented, accessed and controlled in a collaborative system.
In a multi-user interface in a collaborative system, there must be an interface utility that permits multi-users to participate simultaneously together and share access to information relative to their participation.
A wide variety of user interface techniques are known for enabling more than one user to access a structured data object. In some techniques, a structured data object is only displayed to one user at a time, while in others, a structured data object is displayed to a number of users at the same time.
The term, "structured data object", is used herein to generically mean a data object that contains a series of other data objects linked together in a predetermined manner which may or may not include a visual representation or functional abstraction on a display screen. Such data objects may have an associated set of operations and be linked to one another for one or more functional purposes. An example of a structured data object is the electronic version of a multi-page document wherein each page is a data object linked to both preceding and subsequent pages, which are data objects, in a predetermined order. Another example is a workspace or desktop, as defined by the display screen containing multiple structured data objects, e.g., file folders or documents, which, in turn, may contain other structured data objects. For example, a file folder may contain several documents, other file folders or a file drawer. A structured data object that is capable of holding other structured data objects is also referred to in the art as a "container", e.g., a file folder is a container for documents. Another example is hypertext linked structured data objects wherein individual workspaces or text windows, themselves may be linked together in a predetermined manner. In U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 030,766, filed Mar. 25, 1987, entitled, "User Interface With Multiple Workspaces For Sharing Display System Objects", assigned to the assignee herein and incorporated herein by reference thereto, the term, "structured data objects" would include "display objects", "container" and "display system object" as defined therein.
The present invention deals with the employment of structured files in a shared multi-user environment, in particular, a hierarchy of containers and documents containing structured data objects such as tables, fields, graphics, and data attachments with related data bases that are shared and easily accessed. The selective exclusion of containers and documents is also included. In this context, the term "shared structure object" has reference to files and the structured data objects within them that are accessible to more than one user through network coupled display workstations.
As is known in the art, the representation and display of structured data objects in a workstation environment may take various forms. A common technique is to present the contents or entries of structured data objects in a display region or workspace, such as a view window, on a CRT display. In order to maintain an unclustered display area in the displayed setting, however, it may be useful to provide a shrunken or small representation of the structured data object, such as an iconic representation, when a user is not engaging in activities relating to the structured data object. Such a representation of data may take the form of iconic representations of different structured data objects positioned on a workspace of a display screen, e.g., a display illustrating an office desktop metaphor employing various abstractions of a typical office environment, representative of real office objects, both physically accessible directly while seated at a desk or only physically accessible by moving from a desk to another office location away from the desk. Examples of these abstractions are a desktop, inbasket, outbasket, documents file folders and "books", which contains two or more consecutive document portions which together comprise a complete document. An example of such an office metaphor is the ViewPoint.TM. ("VP") software system available from Xerox Corporation in connection with its 8010 and 8065 display workstations. A more detailed description of this system and iconic representation therein is found in U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 856,525, filed Apr. 28, 1986, assigned to the assignee herein and incorporated herein by reference thereto. This application also contains subject matter related, in certain aspects, to the subject matter of patent application Ser. No. 127,814 (D/87009), filed Dec. 2, 1987, entitled, "Small-Scale Workspace Representations Indicating Activities by Other Users", assigned to the same assignee herein and also incorporated herein by reference thereto.
A "book" in the ViewPoint software system is a structured data object of the container type and is a special directory that creates a relationship among the document portions that are contained in the book. Consecutive documents in a book can share a single page number series so that each document or a selected order of selected documents in the book automatically inherit sequential page numbering proceeding from document to document of the book. Also, scrolling from one document will automatically continue into the next sequential document. Further, there is a facility to automatically create a table of contents and index for the book which will automatically include content and indexing material into the table and index created relative to each document in the book. Lastly, the book will print as a single document.
The ViewPoint ("VP") software system includes a form of "shared" structured data objects in the form of the file drawer abstraction, described in "Filing", VP Series Reference Library, Version 1.0, Xerox Corporation, 1985, pp. 1-60. As described at pages 4-7 and 20-21, a file drawer stores information on a remote file server, which is a physically remote accessible device so that the iconic representation is referred to as a reference icon on the desktop and is shown in half tone to represent this remote state. Structured data objects, such as file folders and documents digitally stored in a file drawer, can be shared by many users, in accordance with access rights, as illustrated at pages 40-43, i.e., users with access rights can access copies of data objects from the same file drawer. A file drawer is represented on the display by a relatively small icon with a pictorial file drawer representation with a name appearing within the representation. As explained in patent application Ser. No. 856,526, a sequence of keyboard and mouse signals, the user can select the icon and request an &lt;OPEN&gt; operation, in which case a window appears on the display workspace showing the file drawer contents, as described and shown at pages 9-10 and 32-34. Unless covered by a window, the file drawer icon remains visible in shadow form while file drawer window remains in its opened state. The user can subsequently close the file drawer window, in which case, the window disappears and the icon resumes its original solid iconic appearance. The ViewPoint system also includes other reference icons described at pages 11-15, 22-25 and 49-60, which can also be used to access a "shared" structured data object.
Thus, relative to "shared" structured data objects located in a remote digitally storage facility or file service represented as a file drawer abstraction of the desktop, it is important to note that access of a structured data object is possible by multiple users having proper access rights to the file drawer for placing a digital copy of a structured data object on the user's desktop for subsequent manipulation, editing, revision, insertion of new material, etc. In this sense, several users may access and share the same data or the same structured data objects, but individual users would be unaware of any changes made by other users unless other users restored the modified version of the structured data object back into the same file drawer and, further, other users periodically checked to see if and when an updated version of the structured data object may have been so restored, absent an electronic or phone message to other users informing them of the restored revision.
The prior art also includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,504 to Obermarck et al. discloses a method and means for the sharing of data resources in a multiprocessing, multiprogramming environment wherein a matrix to determine compatibility between two user's requests is shown. See col. 6, lines 38-54. A variable, DBRC, keeps track of the databases usage. See col. 9, line 31-col. 10, line 5. A method to control multiple concurrent accesses to data is shown. See col. 29, lines 49-66.